Increased reliance on value-based decision processes following motor cortex disruption

Former postdoctoral researcher investigating cognitive processes underlying decision-making, action selection, and behavioral control. Currently leads the Mococo (Motor Control and Cognition) research group at Université de Bordeaux INCIAMO.

Former postdoctoral researcher investigating attention, sequence learning, and the neural mechanisms underlying chunking and learning. Currently research scientist at Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition (CerCo) at Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse.

Emmanuelle is a MD (Neurology Assistant Doctor) who, during her medicine studies at the Université catholique de Louvain, joined the CoActions lab as a research student (2012 - 2016). Over that time, she worked on preparatory motor inhibition, mainly in alcohol-dependent patients, but also helped to develop a new double-coil TMS method. She started her PhD thesis in October 2016. Her goal was to investigate the role of the basal ganglia in motor inhibition, working with medically treated and DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) treated Parkinson’s patients.

Research broadly explores a range of questions pertaining to the cognitive neuroscience of human behavior. Conduct experiments to explore the interaction between cognition and action in neurologically healthy and impaired individuals. Use a variety of techniques to characterize the functional role of different parts of the motor pathways, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG). Recent research investigates the role of the locus coeruleus in various aspects of action control, including reaching movement control, decision making, and behavioral vigor, using transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) to causally probe this neuromodulatory system. More →